California IN BRIEF : FRESNO COUNTY : Deputies Charge Job Discrimination

Two Fresno County sheriff’s deputies and a former deputy are suing the department and the county, charging they were discriminated against when they were passed over for promotion. Deputies Linda Lee, Joe Rascon and former deputy Pete Chavez charged that they were passed over for promotion to sergeant because Lee is a woman and Rascon and Chavez are Latinos. Their suit seeks recovery of lost wages and damages. The suit follows a determination last summer by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the three were discriminated against by the county and the Sheriff’s Department in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act. Lee, Rascon and Chavez were passed over for promotion in favor of Anglo males or others who ranked lower.